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Turkish war planes have launched air strikes on Kurdish fighters in Afrin in northern Syria in a move likely to raise tensions with the US. The US-backed YPG says at least nine people were killed in the air strikes. Turkey had been shelling the area for two days, ahead of the start of its military […]
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Sunni parties in the Iraqi Parliament on Wednesday called for the postponement of the parliamentary and provincial council elections in Iraq later this year. One of the largest Sunni blocs in the Iraqi Parliament, demanded the election—scheduled for May 12, 2018— be postponed for at least a year as the necessary conditions for holding the […]
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Turkey’s president has warned of imminent military offensives on two Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria, as tanks and troops gather on the border. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syrian rebels would support Turkish efforts to clear the “terror nests” of Afrin and Manbij. The areas are controlled by the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist group […]
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Kurdish and Iraqi delegates have agreed for the Kurdistan Region airports to reopen under the Iraqi civil aviation authority, one of a list of recommendations to be presented to the Iraqi government for approval. A delegation from the oil ministry also met with Kurdish officials in Erbil set the ground for an oil-for-budget agreement. No […]
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In a complete reverse of his previous position, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has reached an agreement with Hashd al-Shaabi factions to allow them to run in the upcoming spring elections as a united coalition. The coalition, led by Abadi, is called Nasr al-Iraq and will allegedly work alongside the State of Law coalition, led […]
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Thousands of Iranians who have been sentenced to death for drug crimes could be spared following a softening in the country’s law. Capital punishment has been abolished for some drug offences, and the head of the judiciary has said all cases on death row can be reviewed. The move is set to be applied retrospectively, […]
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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the Iraqi military to resume security talks with their Kurdish counterparts and announced another delegation will discuss international borders with KRG authorities. The Iraqi PM also admitted that security forces were still hunting for Islamic State (IS) militants in remote desert areas of Iraq, vowing to eliminate them […]
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The Iraqi Parliament on Monday voted to ban Kurdish engineering company Kar Group from operating oilfields in Kirkuk as a crackdown on the Kurdistan Region continues following the independence referendum held last September. The vote came after lawmakers in the Iraqi Parliament claimed the Kurdish firm “refused to cooperate” with Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company […]
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At least 23 people are reportedly dead and many more injured after a large explosion in the rebel-held city of Idlib, in northwestern Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast struck the headquarters of a minor rebel faction. Seven of the dead are believed to be civilians. Meanwhile, two separate bomb […]
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The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has declared the defeat of the “sedition” in the country, referring to a wave of anti-government protests. Maj Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari made the announcement as tens of thousands of people attended pro-government rallies called to counter the unrest. It began last Thursday in the city of Mashhad and […]
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